Hardware / Graphics cards

nVidia Riva 128

discussed in 881 posts, 1997-2004 · overall tone mixed

Posts per month

Key threads

The Pits' CPR review sparks 3Dfx versus Riva war 1998-01-18 · 110 posts
A link to The Pits' top-rated CART Precision Racing review led to criticism of its recommendation of the Stealth II over 3Dfx. The thread became a long, heated argument between Greg Cisko and Randy Magruder over 3Dfx versus Riva 128 and Direct3D, including Longbow 2 support and Riva's market share. Joe McGinn and others backed 3Dfx while some Riva owners reported problems.
Microsoft details the CART Precision Racing patch contents 1997-12-08 · 105 posts
Dean of Microsoft's CART Team listed the CART Precision Racing patch fixes: improved AI, 25-50% frame rate gains for all users, controller null zone, pit lane auto-pilot, gamma controls, larger steering ratio and better default setups, and said a new demo would follow. He explained that a native Glide version had been benchmarked but gave little benefit, sparking a long Direct3D-versus-Glide argument with 3Dfx owners. Later posts became a Voodoo versus Riva 128 hardware debate.
Riva 128 versus Voodoo for sim racing 1998-01-22 · 56 posts
David Green posted a comparison chart of the Riva 128 and 3Dfx Voodoo. Others cited reviews from Boot and Tom's Hardware criticising Riva image quality, while Randy Magruder argued those sources had factual errors and that drivers were improving. The debate became personal, with Nosferatu calling names and benchmarks being traded.
F1RS first-lap stutter on a Riva 128 card 1998-06-02 · 25 posts
A new F1RS player had a jumpy first lap on a Pentium 200 with a Diamond Viper V330. Others pointed out it was a Riva 128 Direct3D card rather than 3dfx, and recommended more RAM, a fixed swap file and a Voodoo add-on. After adding 64MB of RAM and a Monster 3D he reported smooth running, while a side debate praised Papyrus's own input code over DirectInput.
Glide vs OpenGL vs Direct3D for CART Precision Racing 1997-11-25 · 27 posts
A Diamond Viper 330 owner asked whether OpenGL drivers would let him run a 'Glide' version of CPR. Replies explained that Glide is 3Dfx-only while Direct3D and OpenGL are general APIs. Dean of the CART team said CPR already accelerated his card through Direct3D, and the thread became a debate over whether native Glide support or standard APIs should be preferred.
Angry demand for the CART Precision Racing patch 1997-12-01 · 46 posts
A poster angrily demanded the CART Precision Racing patch two weeks after release, accusing Microsoft and TRI of shipping an unfinished game. Dean of the CART Team replied that the patch was always slated for December and that a TRI build was due that week; he also confirmed gamma correction in the patch and blamed Riva 128 flicker on drivers. Others told the poster to be patient or return the game, and he eventually apologised to the group; side chatter covered Vancouver weather and the Mercedes elk test.
Eagle Woman's enthusiastic F1RS coverage and debate 1998-01-20 · 116 posts
Alison announced an expanded F1 Racing Simulation section on her site, praising its realism. Randy Magruder and Mike said the sim felt flat, citing instant engine revs, sound, and Direct3D bugs, while Greg Cisko and others suggested 3Dfx owners got a better experience. Discussion covered controller sensitivity settings, brake dust visuals and running F1RS under Windows NT.
F1RS availability, 3Dfx versus D3D, and slow grass 1998-02-15 · 20 posts
A newcomer asked how to get F1 Racing Simulation in the US and was told to order from Ubisoft. Randy Magruder, after buying a Monster 3D, found the Glide version clearly superior to Direct3D. Posters debated the sim's 'slow grass' penalty, with John Wallace arguing grip loss should be modelled per tyre.
Warning against buying CART Precision Racing 1998-01-04 · 24 posts
A buyer warned others off CART Precision Racing, citing unresponsive menus and track reloads after every setup change. Others pointed out that test-drive mode avoids reloads and shared the FRAME cheat code for a frame counter and links to fan sites. Opinions split between those who returned the game and those enjoying it, with Alison posting tips to speed up F1RS and CPR.
Stealth II or Pure3D as stopgap before Voodoo2 1998-01-08 · 60 posts
A buyer asked which card to get while waiting for Voodoo2. Voodoo supporters stressed its broad Glide game support, while others defended the Rendition Verite 2100-based Stealth II as cheap and capable, including native OpenGL for Quake II. An argument broke out over whether NHL 98 was a Glide-only or Direct3D game.
Delay of the NASCAR Racing 2 3Dfx patch 1998-01-20 · 172 posts
A poster asked why Papyrus's promised 3Dfx patch for NASCAR Racing 2 was taking so long. Joe McGinn quoted a December Papyrus email promising a release date, and others said 3Dfx had done the port with Sierra holding it back. The thread grew into a 172-post argument about Papyrus's communication, Rendition versus 3Dfx and patch quality.
GPL lacks TNT support; Papyrus releases beta OpenGL drivers 1998-10-12 · 125 posts
A question about running GPL on an nVidia TNT card started a long argument over Papyrus supporting only 3dfx Glide and Rendition rather than Direct3D or OpenGL. Critics called it a business mistake and complained the box misstated requirements, while defenders said buyers should choose hardware for their software and that D3D was poor during development. The debate ended when Papyrus posted beta OpenGL drivers for GPL, and Eric Busch of Papyrus said the patch had been in the works and they would look at Permedia2 issues.
First impressions of GPL's OpenGL patch on TNT cards 1998-10-24 · 25 posts
Users tried Papyrus's new OpenGL rasterizer on nVidia TNT and Riva cards, reporting richer colors but lower frame rates than Voodoo2, plus menu glitches with some drivers. Papyrus's Eric Busch said the UI works with nVidia reference drivers, that a full OpenGL ICD is needed rather than Quake MiniGL, and that mirror performance depends on nVidia's drivers. The thread slid into another TNT versus 3dfx argument.

Busiest threads

The Pits' CPR review sparks 3Dfx versus Riva war (45 posts about it)
Microsoft details the CART Precision Racing patch contents (38 posts about it)
Riva 128 versus Voodoo for sim racing (34 posts about it)
F1RS first-lap stutter on a Riva 128 card (11 posts about it)
Glide vs OpenGL vs Direct3D for CART Precision Racing (10 posts about it)
New STB Drivers & N2--Anyone tried????? (9 posts about it)
Angry demand for the CART Precision Racing patch (8 posts about it)
Pure 3d, where? (8 posts about it)
PC BUilt but Which graphics (8 posts about it)
Viper 330 (7 posts about it)
3DFX (Voodoo) with TV OUT? (6 posts about it)
F1RS - From my perspective so far. (6 posts about it)
Eagle Woman's enthusiastic F1RS coverage and debate (6 posts about it)
N2 and Riva cards (6 posts about it)
Will GPL final version support D3D or OpenGL? (6 posts about it)

Sentiment by year

Each post that discussed it was rated from −2 (very negative) to +2 (very positive).

Year	Posts	Positive	Negative	Tone
1997	214	85	37	positive (+0.29)
1998	570	142	97	mixed (+0.09)
1999	61	5	23	negative (-0.31)
2000	25	2	11	negative (-0.44)
2001	6	1	2	negative (-0.33)
2002	4	1	3	very negative (-0.75)
2004	1	0	0	mixed (+0.00)